Archives for July 31, 2017

Monday’s ad is by the Brewing Industry Foundation, from 1945, part of a series of ads the beer industry undertook just as World War 2 was ending, after their “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” series. They were also a precursor to the “Home Life in America” series that was numbered (and which I’ve featured before), and very similar. Each ad featured an original illustration or work of art by prominent artists of the time, along with the first use of the “Beer Belongs…enjoy it!” tagline. It’s also when the UBIF started using “America’s Beverage of Moderation” in their advertising.

In this ad, entitled “Thanksgiving Dinner,” the scene shows the start of a family’s Thanksgiving dinner, with the turkey and all the fixin’s, including beer. The painting was done by Andrée Rouellan, who was an “American artist whose realist work has modernist overtones and commonly depicts everyday scenes in American South and New York City” from New York.

For our 126th Session, our host will be Gail Williams‏, who is one-half of the team writing Beer by BART. For her topic, she’s chosen a juicy topic: Hazy, Cloudy, Juicy: IPA’s Strange Twist. “The topic will be a still-emerging – though no longer new – unofficial beer style. This kind of beer has gotten so much buzz (and some mocking) in the last decade and a half that it’s surprising it has not come up on The Session yet. New England, Vermont-inspired, Northeastern, Hazy, Juicy or whatever you like to call these low-bitterness, hop flavorful beers, they are being made everywhere now and people are definitely buying them.”

Here’s Gail’s full description of her topic:

Any approach is welcome. Choose an idea or find your own:

The encounter: Do you remember your first NEIPA – if so, what was that like? Details, please. And how has your perception of the style changed over time?

Or the name game: What style name do you prefer to describe the trend … why choose that one, and why are the other names unworthy or short-sighted? Does “IPA” still apply in a way that’s helpful to drinkers?

Or the crusade: Testify! Exactly why do you love or hate these beers? How you could explain your stance to somebody who disagrees with you. Could you/ how would you convert them to your point of view?

Or setting standards and defining flaws: What makes a classic example of the style? What makes an IPA simply an unfiltered dry-hopped American IPA without much clarity instead of part of this style? What about the sweeter “milkshake” IPAs – part of this style definition or something else? What flaws make for weak examples of the style? Or maybe, where should the numbers be for this style – abv, ibu, color and clarity, etc.? What tasting instructions would you give to judges of these beers?

Or take another angle, tell another tale! Have you been writing about these beers for several years now and watched them evolve? Know something cool about the making of these beers, the people behind them, their spread to the UK and Europe?

Choose any angle and make it yours – they’re just ideas to get us thinking, not a questionnaire. And if you have zero interest in such a beer, just say why in the fullest detail. Have fun with it!

To participate in the August Session, on or before Friday, August 4, 2017 — yes that’s this Friday, in just four days — write a post and either leave a comment to the original announcement, “or to get a little more buzz going, tweet your link with the hashtag #thesession or alert [her] directly @beerbybart on Twitter.”

Today is the 43rd birthday of Jonathan Surratt. Jonathan launched the Beer Mapping Project and also runs the website for DRAFT magazine. He also created National Growler Day, though its exact date from year to year is still fluid, and he’s a twitter diva, too. Join me in wishing Jonathan a very happy birthday.